This invention relates generally to apparatus for manually erecting and loading corrugated paperboard cartons of the regular slotted container type commonly known as R.S.C. type and more particularly, provides apparatus for assisting an operator in the manual erection and loading of such type of carton from collapsed, partially assembled box blanks, said apparatus employing vacuum means for selectively immobilizing the box blank during its erection. The carton blank is partially assembled along its manufacturer's flap or joint, as is conventional in this field.
Conventional slotted containers and similar one piece boxes of the conventional R.S.C. type cartons of corrugated paperboard are manufactured and shipped to users in knockeddown or flat, partially assembled blanks, bundled or palletized, to be assembled and loaded by the user. This requires folding of major and minor flaps at both the upper and lower ends of the opened box blanks to form the top and bottom closure walls. High speed, automated equipment is available for the user to place bundles of blanks into a hopper or magazine of an automatic box erecting machine. The machine extracts single blanks from the magazine, and mechanically opens the blank into a tubular configuration, then folds and secures the four bottom flaps with tape, staples, or glue. The opened box then is loaded and thereafter, the top flaps are folded closed and sealed.
Problems arise for users when such an automatic box erecting machine is not feasible so that users must rely upon manual labor to erect and load the boxes and fold the flaps for sealing. Automatic box erecting machines are expensive and their economically feasible use demands large volume production and labor saving cost. This type of expensive machinery may not be feasible for many classes of customer users of such containers.
Erecting and/or loading of such paperboard cartons manually involves a relatively slow, tedious operation demanding considerable manual dexterity on the part of the operator. The difficulty is magnified because the paperboard from which the carton is formed causes the hinged flaps connected to the side panels to resist folding along the fold lines. The worker must not only fold the flaps, four in number on each of the top and bottom ends of the blank, but also must hold all the flaps in closed position for taping, gluing or stapling them into a closed formation. Not only is the process slow and requires considerable skill, but it engenders considerable strain and rapid operator fatigue also.
There is a real need for an economical apparatus which can assist the manual operator to open and load a carton blank speedily and without undue stress and fatigue during such operation.